Chai Chamomile: A What-If Story
by Ellen Laser
Summary: What would happen if someone pissed off Zuko, yet impressed Iroh enough to be forced into joining the prince's quest to restore his honor? This story follows a young tea server who has some moves as she restores her honor by helping the prince restore his. What shenanigans will ensue on this wild goose chase? Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.
1. Prologue

Chai Chamomile lived with her adoptive grandparents as long as she could remember in one of the oldest Fire Nation colonies, a port-town. Earl and Pepper Chamomile were some of the first colonists to move in. Since then, they ran a bath, bed, and tea establishment. For the Chamomiles it was a peaceful life until the prince came. It was widely known that Prince Zuko had been banished for dishonoring his father, the Fire Lord, although details were vague. It was also commonly known that the prince was searching for the missing Avatar in an attempt to capture him and restore his honor. The prince and his uncle, General Iroh, had come into port after yet another unsuccessful lead. In the market Chai was purchasing fruit when she heard the news.

"I was there when they came in," said a fisherman, "You should see the prince's face! A large scar engulfs his left eye!"

"Do you suppose the Fire Lord did that after…you know?" asked a saleswoman.

"Nah," chimed a farmer, "I heard it came from a practice accident."

Then the crowd went deadly silent. Chai turned to see an old man accompanying a boy matching the rourmerd scar. The boy had a deadly aura about him and looked at the people around the area with a scowl. Everybody seemed to be avoiding looking directly at him, probably in fear of what assumptions he may come to. Unfortunately, Chai didn't seem to realize their concerns in time.

Their eyes met for half a second before Chai jerked her head the opposite direction. She felt her heart quicken and a shortness of breath. Sweat began surfacing from her skin. A moment later, Chai heard a voice behind her question, "Was there something on my face?" When she didn't answer the prince yelled, "I ASKED IF THERE WAS SOMETHING ON MY FACE!" He made her face him and grabbed the scruff of her blouse, "GO ON SPIT IT OUT. SEE IF I CARE!"

"Prince Zuko, please keep your wits about you," said the old man.

"Uncle, don't expect me to overlook the judgement of this peasant. For that she deserves to learn a lesson…" He balled his free hand into a slight fist and a blade of fire appeared. Chai felt her mind go blank and moved, twisting the prince's arm that held her blouse off and jabbing several exposed nerves, just as her grandfather had taught her.

The prince fell in a thud to the ground. It was when her grandparents came running into the market with a bystander that the color drained from her face. What had she done?

Not long after, Chia was in her room. The general and prince were downstairs talking to her grandparents. There was little doubt in her mind that they were discussing what her punishment ought to be. Although she was threatened, she still technically was the first to attack. Plus he was royal and did royals even care about others' opinions?

A knock sounded on the door and was opened, "Chai, your grandfather and I need to talk to you." Granny Pepper and Grandpapi Earl entered her room.

"I'm going to jail, aren't I?" asked Chai, casting her gaze downward.

"No, no dear. It'll be ok."

"Of course you're not exactly getting off either," said Grandpapi, "The general managed to get the prince to agree on having you pay your dues by serving them during their quest."

"They want me to serve them tea?" asked Chai, perplexed.

"Not exactly…"

"Then what? No…" Chai's face reddened as she jumped to an extreme conclusion.

"No! Not that either, although you better keep your guard up on the sea… No, they want you to work as a gaurd against unfriendly benders."

"I-I suppose that's not too bad… But how long am I to be away?"

"That is for the prince to decide. Perhaps as long as it takes him to reach his goal. Tonight, the prince and general will be staying here. Tomorrow you all will depart for sea. I'll need you to prepare the guest room and bath for them."

Chai quickly set up the bathhouse and spare bedroom. While the general and prince were bathing, she went into the kitchen where Granny was brewing tea. The aroma filled her nostrils and the name came from her lips, "Chai, Granny?"

"Oh," said Granny, "I would have thought you returned to bed, my child."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. This might be my last one here…"

"Don't say that!"

"But no one's ever seen the Avatar! What if the prince decides I'm to travel with his crew until the very moment of his success, but that never comes? What if I die before then in combat or of old age? I won't be able to live as I want, I probably won't ever get married..."

"I don't know dear. But you must never lose hope. You know your stubborn grandfather and I are always with you in heart, right?"

"I-I'm just going to miss you guys. You're all I know…"

"And you are our precious child no matter what," Granny poured the tea into two cups, "I need to go and get these to our guests…"

"Let me, Granny," said Chai taking the tray, "I might as well attempt to start paying them back now."

Chai started heading towards the bath house when she saw the General on his way out. She did a quick bow and said, "Finished so soon General Iroh?"

The general sighed and said, "There is no need to be nervous or formal, young lady. We may be traveling for a long while before the prince ceases his search. You can call me Iroh."

"I…don't know, sir. Isn't that a little too formal. After all you are an elder…"

"Then how about Uncle Iroh?"

"U-uncle Iroh?"

"That's it. Oh, I heard we would be getting tea with our bath," said Uncle Iroh picking up a cup off the tray, "Mmm, chai. A tea to put the heart at ease. The prince definatly needs to drink more of this!" The general took a sip and continued, "Your name was Chai, yes? Named after the tea?"

"Yes. Grandpapi and Granny said they once compared their names to tea and found they were both consumers of the drinks. They thought it would be funny to have named their children after teas, but since they didn't have any of their own, I was given the legacy."

"Adopted, eh? It's good to see war orphans can find a home here. I'll be off now My nephew is still in the bath house. I will advise you to tread carefully. He has a lot of... triggers…" Then he continued heading to the main house.

Chai knocked on the door and from inside a voice said, "I told you, Uncle, I can bathe myself perfectly fine."

"It's me. Chai Chamomile. The person who chi blocked you," she said as she slid open the door. The prince was chest deep in the cloudy water. From where she was standing, Chai saw only his right half.

"You do know this is the male side of the bath right? Or are you here to peep?"

Chai's face went red and then she said, "I'm just here to bring tea for your information! I've done this, like a million times! Now here you go and good night," she placed the cup next to him and turned to head for the door when she stepped on the hem of her kimono and fell into the water.

The prince started laughing. Chai felt like blowing up, but when she turned to face him, she didn't see the same arrogant, hot head she met in the market. There was a sort of softness there. He seemed to realize he dropped his persona for a moment because he quickly returned to a hardened expression. "Serves you right," he said quietly, "Now leave me before make you wish you never saw that."

Before thinking, Chai grabbed a bucket from the side and splashed the prince with some water. He scowled as she cracked. "Maybe that will cool you down, Your Royal Hot Head," she said as she climbed out the pool, "I'm warning you, I'm going to see that side of you again. Oh, and yes there is something on your face, but...you lose nothing to it." And she left the bath house, drenched.

The next day, Chai was up early. She rummaged her drawers for the outfit she normally wore when her grandfather taught her combative techniques. He had once been an expert in most combat working in the army.

Everybody was already in the kitchens of the shop when she entered. When she saw the prince, she remembered what she said the previous night. _Mark my words, Prince, _she thought to herself, _I _will _see you like that again._

Chai bowed in a respectful way more to the general than to the prince, but maybe it would help him to get over the chai blocking and bucket splash faster if she at least acted respectful. After all, his attitude still bugged her, even if he was royalty. "I am ready to pay for my insolence, Your Highness, and I hope to restore my honor by helping to restore yours."

The prince just grunted, looking off to the side and the general said, "We will be happy to have a young lady with your talents on our side and look forward to the presence of a beautiful young lady on the ship. Seriously, days out on sea with only men can be tiring...Just so you know."

"I will mentally prepare for that...thank you for the heads up Gen- I mean, Uncle Iroh," Chai turned to her grandparents and went in for a hug. "I'll miss you," she said, "I'll make sure to write as often as possible."

"We would love to hear all about your adventures, dear," said Grandma Pepper, "Remember to have some fun on it."

"And if you run into the Avatar," said Grandpa Earl, "Make sure to go easy on him, or her."

"Do you really think I could match a master of all four elements?"

"You have your grandmother and my combined skills and he, or she, is old by now, after all. I have complete confidence my granddaughter can match him." Chai smiled at that thought. A girl like her winning out against the Avatar…

And so this tea-serving, chi blocker, left the port-town she grew up in with the hot-headed prince and the kind uncle-general on a mission to capture the Avatar.


	2. Chapter 1: The Avatar and the Watertribe

A year after Chai joined Prince Zuko's quest to restore his honor, the ship's crew found themselves around the south pole freezing and without any leads. Once again, Chai had successfully disabled the prince. "That's one-hundred me, zero you. It's like you want me to call you 'Prince Zero,'" said Chai.

"Just you wait! I'll defeat you soon!"

"And how long have you been saying that Prince Zero?" asked Chai. She sighed as he struggled to even sit up. "You know, if you _let _me, I could unblock you with a single jab to the right nerve."

"What do you take me for? I don't need your help," said the prince, "I don't need your _pity. _It wasn't my idea to bring you along or train with you! Why don't you just get lost!"

"Eh? You're telling me this now. If I knew you didn't want me here. I would have stayed home," said Chai as she crouched beside him, "If you said something sooner, you could have _at least_ dropped me off at a port. At least then I could have caught a boat in the direction of home. But now we're here. In the South Pole, in the middle of nowhere. I guess you're stuck with me until we turn around and head for a port, eh, Prince Zero?"

"Fine! Until then, stay out of my sight. Maybe I'll throw you a farewell banquet before we dump you off somewhere!"

"How generous of you, Prince Zuko," said Uncle Iroh as he approached the two, "However, I believe it would be unwise to let Chai go. At least continue to practice with her until you can win a single match against her. I wonder if she would be able to match your sister…"

"Princess Azula, you mean? I heard she's a prodigy fire-bender," said Chai, "No offense, but It would be nice to have another girl around...Hey, how about trying to recruit her? As a prodigy, she would be a great sparring partner for both of us and I could finally have a girl-friend on this sausage-fest of a ship! Again, no offense. I just want someone to have girl-talk with...I wonder if she's kind, though…"

"That is a terrible idea," said the prince, "And I would never ask my sister for help! We don't even like each other!"

"Well, can you blame a girl for not wanting to be around you! You're hot-tempered and ill-mannered. I'd be ashamed to have a brother like you. It's really no wonder you don't have a girlfriend. If you don't like each other, that must mean you're opposites. She _must _be kind and polite."

There was a pause. Then Uncle Iroh said, "You poor, naive soul. I hope you never have to meet my niece…"

It was then a light shot into the sky. "What the hell was that?" asked Chai, "That is _not_ normal."

"It's him," said Zuko, "It has to be…".

"What?! I'm sure that light came from here!" said Prince Zuko. They had come to a place with a broken iceberg.

"You expect the Avatar to stay in the same place?" asked Chai, "Now that would be an invitation to get captured...He, _or_ she, probably moved on after a while."

"There's a possibility the Avatar is heading towards the local water tribe," said Uncle Iroh.

"And where _is _this water tribe?" asked the prince.

"I'll go consult the captain, but they may have moved since the Southern Raiders took their last waterbender," said Uncle Iroh, "If we must approach them, Prince Zuko, be sure to be gentle with them. They do not have much left." He then went in to check with the captain.

Then a loud boom sounded. Prince Zuko took a telescope from a crew member and looked in the direction the sound came from, "That must be him," said Zuko, "Impressively agile for an old man...That must be-Uncle! I found it and he's heading that way!" The prince dashed after Iroh as he thrust the telescope into Chai's hands.

She brought it to her eye and looked around in the same direction until she saw somebody in yellow and orange getup place somebody in blue down. "Well, I'll be," she muttered to herself, "My job here just maybe about up. But then, why do I feel a little disappointed?

After a while, the ship arrived at the water tribe village. When the nose came down to allow the crew to exit the ship, Chai saw a single boy donning war paint waiting. He rushed at the crew, but the prince easily knocked him to the side.

The rest of the village was huddled together. Practically just women and children. Where were the men? There had only been that obviously underprepared boy in war paint. And none of the women seemed to be fighters. Who the hell would leave a village so unguarded? Unless...but from what she heard, the Southern Raiders left the village only with a single life on their hands in the last time anyone from the Fire Nation stepped foot there.

"Where is the Avatar?" demanded prince Zuko and when no one answered, he grabbed an old woman from the arms of a young girl wearing a pendant with the water symbol engraved on it. "He would be around this age!" Again when no one answered he began to get heated.

"Your Highness!" Chai blurted out, "It's apparent the Avatar is no longer here. Perhaps we should move on?"

"Looking for me!" Everyone turned towards a young boy in the colors of the Air Nomads. He was sliding down into the village with a penguin.

"The Avatar is just a kid!" said Zuko.

"And you're just a teenager," replied the kid Avatar.

"Aang!" beamed the girl with the pendant at the same time as the boy in the war paint said, "Aang?"

"Katara! Saka! I'm back everyone!"

"You're mine, Avatar!" declared the prince as he began sending blasts of fire in his direction all masterfully evaded by this boy.

The boy in war paint took this momentary distraction as a striking opportunity, but Chai quickly disabled him with a couple of jabs. "Sorry," she said with a wink, "As pathetic as you are, I can't allow you to get a cheap shot on my boss."

"Saka!" the Avatar called out. He rushed over to his friend's side. Chai decided to take the opportunity to disable him, however, he was quite the challenge on Airbending alone. Just as Chai gained the advantage. A blast of fire came in their direction from the prince, but before it could land a blow, a wall of water blocked it and the girl with the pendant was the source. She dropped the wall, looking surprised with herself.

"A water bender!" The prince voiced the crew's surprise, "Capture her!" As the guards began to approach the water bender, she attempted to send an icy blast their way, but it went backwards and the guards captured her. "Let's go!" said the prince and as the Avatar began to go to the girl's rescue he formed a fire dagger and said, "Of course, I'm willing to bargain if you turn yourself over, Avatar. We'll be going a bit out. Find us in an hour and her freedom will be traded for yours!"

Chai realized she was a momentary spectator and began to move, but she found herself frozen in place. Her feet were literally stuck in the icy blast the waterbender failed to send towards the guards. She then heard the ship start and turned to see it depart. "Hey, Prince Zero," she yelled out, "Don't forget me in a place like this!" She felt the gaze of the village and Avatar turn towards her and she began to sweat.

"You," said the Avatar, "Who are you?"

"I'm obviously, the chick who chi blocked that dude over there, duh. Or haven't you been paying attention, Avatar?" said Chai looking off to the side.

"No, I mean your name."

"My name? I guess it's okay to say….I'm Chai Chamomile…"

"Hi, I'm Aang!"

"Don't be friendly with the enemy," said the boy in war paint, "But how in the world did I lose to a _girl!"_

"You're kind of sexist, aren't you?" asked Chai, "Look, you lost because you were shamefully underprepared. I mean, who the hell would leave the safety of their village in the hands of an undisciplined and underprepared fool! And where the hell have you been 'Avatar'? How the hell are you still a kid?"

"Look, now's not the time for questions or answers," said the Avatar, "I have to save my friend, Katara. Will you help me?"

"Help you?"

"If you promise to help me get Katara back. I'll unfreeze the water, hopefully, and give you a ride back to...Prince Zero?"

"Zuko. He's Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Never call him 'Prince Zero,' only I'm allowed to do that," said Chai.

"Why?"

"That's between us. You know, I will help you, Avatar. It'll be more fun that way, after all."

"Thanks!" The Avatar looked thoroughly pleased with himself by just unfreezing the water.

Chai then bent down to look at the war-painted boy, who managed to sit up and said, "Wanna see a cool trick?" And she jabbed him just above the stomach.

"Hey, what's the idea?" asked the Avatar.

"That's a free service. Unblocking his chi, I mean. It would have happened soon enough, but I'm sure he wants to come. She's your girlfriend right?"

The boy jumped up and said, "What? No, ewe. She's my sister!"

"Really? Does that mean you're available? Well, good to see you effortlessly got to your feet."

"T-thanks?" he said, looking confused with a hint of blush.

"All right, off to Appa!" said the Avatar

"Avatar Aang," said the old woman who the prince grabbed before, "I would like to apologize for before. Please take Katara to the North Pole with you once you find her. Perhaps they will be able to better prepare her for these situations... I'm sure you have been looking for a Waterbending master yourself. I'm sorry you haven't found one here. Please take these supplies with you and tell Katara I believe in her and that her destiny is now entwined in yours," she handed a bundle to him and turned to the war-painted boy, "And Saka, be nice to your sister. And _you,_" she gave a death glare to Chai, "You be thankful my granddaughter saved you and the Avatar is merciful. Don't cause trouble for them in the future."

"Look, ma'am," said Chai, "I'm just following orders. I may have no choice but to cause them trouble!"

"Mmm. Well dears," she said turning back to the boys, "Have a safe trip. And Avatar Aang, thank you for giving this old woman hope once again."

"It really flies!" said Saka.

"And I thought being on the sea was bad," said Chai trying to hold back vile as Appa, the sky bison, flew through the air, "Okay, let's get down to business…" Chai explained the layout of the ship and described the best route to the holding cell, where Katara was most likely to be held.

"Ok. got it," said Saka, " I could see myself there!"

"Really?" asked Aang, "It's all jumbled in my head…"

"Then I'll go get Katara and you distract that guy...what was his name?"

"Zuko, Prince Zuko. Don't forget it. Or me, Chai. We're probably going to be on your tail for a while after this, knowing him," said Chai, "Ah, there it is! Well, this is where we part," Aang and Saka looked at her surprised, "What? I can't let the prince see me with you. He's perceptive enough to put two and two together. I'll tell him I escaped you when you were bringing me along for the trade. And oh, don't tell him I did you this favor. If he somehow gains wind about it, I will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth and hand you over to the Fire Lord myself. Good luck." Chai saluted them as she dove off Appa and into the icy water.

She then swam onto an icy platform, chattering her teeth, "Ok, never again will I dive into the water in a place like this…" she watched as the flying bison grew smaller until it came close to the ship. "Well, might as well _act_ like I'm rushing to help him…I hope I don't get frostbite from swimming in this water…" She dove back in and began paddling towards the ship.

When she reached the ship and was halfway up the side railing, somebody fell off the side of the ship. Chai saw it was Zuko when she caught him by the arm. "Losing to the Avatar, Prince Zero? Did he..._blow _you away?"

"Shut up and give me a hand!"

"You already have my right hand. Why would I give you the other? I don't see you that way, besides we will fall off and I don't care for swimming in cold water. Do you?"

"Chai! Quit joking! We don't have time for that. _I _don't have time for that. Just...swing me closer to the ladder, ok?"

"Alright, alright." After he got a grip, they made their ascent onto the ship.

"Aang, I found Katara! Let's go!" Saka said.

"Not so fast!" said Chai, "Miss me? Well, I'm back!" An awkward silence ensued. Chai motioned her head slightly to indicate Zuko who began to rise behind her.

"Oh, no. It's you…" said Saka in a stale tone. _It's a start, _thought Chai.

"Appa!" called out Aang.

"No you don't!" said the prince as he sent a fire blast towards the Avatar who evaded it, but didn't quite pay attention to where he leaped as he fell into the water.

"Aang!" called out Saka and Katara, but not a moment later, he came out, water swirling around him and eyes glowing. He knocked the ship into snow and ice, grabbed his friends and boarded Appa, flying into the distance until they disappeared.

"Get us out of this ice and follow that bison!" screamed Zuko.

"Well, at least we know the Avatar _is_ indeed out there, eh, Prince Zero?" said Chai, "This seems less like a wild goose chase now."

"Still. I have no Avatar."

"Cheer up because _I_ have a good idea where he's heading."


End file.
